ANOTHER CA finish question.

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tbfoto

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Lafayette, Indiana
I don't make pens often enough to warrant buying and keeping a lot of supplies on hand. I want to do a CA finish (I have thin CA) but don't want to have to go buy a bottle of accelerator. How long should I wait between coats of thin CA. I'm guessing 10-15 minutes???
 
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It really depends on your process but in general there really isn't a wait time between coats of ca. I usually do a CA/BLO finish with no waiting between coats. With Thin CA I do a minimum of 8 coats and usually 10. I do usually wait 24 hours before doing any sanding or polishing.

As I said, it really depends on your process.
 
Like Jim said - it depends on your process and there's almost as many as there are turners - maybe more.

I put just a drop or two of thin CA on a folded paper towel & wipe back & forth rapidly 3 or 4 times, wait about 15 seconds then repeat for 4-6 coats, then wait a couple of minutes, hit it with a white Hut bar (carnubara wax), then buff with a wad of paper towel. No sanding required & all done at high speed (2000-2500 rpm).
 
You can't really get a minutes answer as there are too many variables including heat / humidity and the specific type of ca and how thick it's on there.

You can tell by touching it she it's pretty much there.

Personally I love accelerator and it's a part of my process.
 
Edgar said:
Like Jim said - it depends on your process and there's almost as many as there are turners - maybe more. I put just a drop or two of thin CA on a folded paper towel & wipe back & forth rapidly 3 or 4 times, wait about 15 seconds then repeat for 4-6 coats, then wait a couple of minutes, hit it with a white Hut bar (carnubara wax), then buff with a wad of paper towel. No sanding required & all done at high speed (2000-2500 rpm).
Click to expand...
This surprises me because each coat had to fully cure before another could be applied.
 
What is BLO?

Add a few drops of CA to a test piece and time how long it takes. Likely 1-3min. Higher the humidity the quicker the cure.
 
Yes blo, boiled linseed oil. As mentioned many ways to do it. I do not use accelerator so you would have no problem there. As far as dry time. again as mention many factors but usually 2 to 3 minutes if you keep the lathe running. 10, 12 coats of thin will work fine but let it sit overnight before sanding , buffing and polishing. Pays off in the end. Good luck.
 
tbfoto said:
Edgar said:
Like Jim said - it depends on your process and there's almost as many as there are turners - maybe more. I put just a drop or two of thin CA on a folded paper towel & wipe back & forth rapidly 3 or 4 times, wait about 15 seconds then repeat for 4-6 coats, then wait a couple of minutes, hit it with a white Hut bar (carnubara wax), then buff with a wad of paper towel. No sanding required & all done at high speed (2000-2500 rpm).
Click to expand...
This surprises me because each coat had to fully cure before another could be applied.
Click to expand...

I fold a white Bounty towel twice, so with just a couple of drops on the towel, most soaks into the towel & I'm only wiping on an extremely thin layer of CA, so curing time is not much of an issue. Mine is not a high-build, sealed under glass look. It is more similar to a friction polish finish.
 
Test the paper towel with the ca as some ca and some paper towels can actually catch fire. Some paper towels have allot of cellulose which will act as an accelerator for the ca.
 
I tend to use the foam packing that comes in some parcels, about 1/16"+ thick cut about 1" wide and 8-10" long. Can get 2-3 coatings from one spot as I usually ended up sticking to the paper towel. Best to put on 8-10 coats.
Kryn
 
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